Camp X-Ray rift widens

David Blunkett today delivered a withering put-down to Donald Rumsfeld after the US defence secretary said British prisoners at Camp X-Ray could be sent home if ministers ruled that they would be prosecuted.

The Home Secretary accused Mr Rumsfeld of being ignorant of the principles of British justice - that it was for the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether suspects should be charged.

He said he and his Cabinet colleagues would be calling for "clarification" of Mr Rumsfeld's remarks both from the defence secretary and from US attorney general John Ashcroft. Mr Blunkett's comments - the first public response by a senior British minister - threatened a fresh rift in Anglo- US relations already strained over the treatment of suspected Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists at Camp X-Ray, five of whom are British nationals.

Mr Rumsfeld, asked in a newspaper interview if the British and other foreigners could be sent home, replied: "We'd prefer to only give them back to countries that have an interest in people that ought to be prosecuted, rather than simply turning them back on the street and having them fly into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center."

Mr Blunkett said Mr Rumsfeld was "not the attorney general of the United States". He added: "Therefore he's probably not aware that we have a Crown Prosecution Service, and before anyone is detained or charged the CPS has to examine the evidence.

"It's not appropriate to make a judgment about what you do with someone before they have been charged - never mind afterwards. No doubt my other colleagues in the Cabinet who deal with him will be seeking clarification, as I will from the attorney general John Ashcroft." In the interview, Mr Rumsfeld said British troops currently leading the ISAF peacekeeping force in Afghanistan were doing a "superb job".

However the future of the troops today hangs in the balance with the threat that Tony Blair may have to break his promise of an early pull-out.

The Government is holding urgent behind-the-scenes talks with Turkey, which wants a clear mandate from the Afghans, a fixed finishing date and a promise of US logistical support before taking over the peace-keeping role in April.